The Top 10 Most Popular McDonald’s Burgers in Japan

McDonald’s, the American classic, is a familiar fast food restaurant that is known all over the world. The golden arches appear in 119 different countries, giving rise to some interesting regional burgers.

Known as “maku-donarudo” or “maku” for short, the McDonald’s franchise can be found in 3,598 locations throughout Japan. With such a big presence, many Japanese have a favorite maku burger.

The following is a list of the top ten McDonald’s sandwiches in Japan, based on the results of an internet poll. Voters had from September 11 until midnight on September 16 to choose their favorite McDonald’s burger and a total of 207,948 votes were cast.

The signature burger of McDonald’s ranks at number 2 in Japan, taking a back seat to the Chicken Tartar sandwich. Japan’s BigMac is a bit smaller than the ones served in the States, but looks like it’s assembled with more care (the two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, and onions are all nestled neatly between their sesame seed bun, not spilling out everywhere in the cardboard container).

3) Teriyaki Maku Baagaa (Teriyaki McBurger)

4) Tsukimi Baagaa (Moon Viewing Burger)

Created to celebrate the harvest moon, the Moon Viewing Burger is only available during the fall in Japan. Egg, beef patty, smoky bacon, special sauce (ketchup and mayonnaise) is sandwiched between a sesame bun.

5) Gurakoro

Macaroni and shrimp cream croquette (fried mashed potatoes), finely shredded cabbage, and katsu sauce. This seasonal burger is only available from the end of November to the middle of December. Due to its short appearance, the Gurakoro has developed a bit of a cult following, similar to the McRib in the US.

6) Teritama (Teriyaki Egg Burger)

7) Daburu Cheezu Baagaa (Double Cheese Burger)

8) Ebi Fireo (Filet-o-Shrimp)

Just like the Filet-o-fish but with a fried shrimp patty.

9) Fireo Fishu (Filet-o-Fish)

The Filet-o-Fish, another American classic, is down at the bottom at number 9. You would think a country whose diet revolves around seafood would prefer the Filet-o-fish to the Chicken Tartar (ranked at #1). Go figure.

No matter how you interpret the name of this chicken sandwich, you gotta love the Japanese word for “juicy.”

There you have it, the top ten McDonald’s burgers in Japan. After looking at the list, we can’t help but think that there’s one burger missing: the Quarter Pounder with Cheese. They sell it in Japan and it tastes pretty darn close to the original American version (maybe even a little less greasy). However, simply ordering the Quarter Pounder in Japanese is a mouthful in itself (Kuwota Paunda Wizu Cheezu). Wouldn’t you rather just order a Bigu Maku and be done with it?